Lent my van to a buddy, and his brother plowed it right into a big brick mailbox, denting the bumper and demolishing the mailbox. I assume the rear bumper is fairly easy to remove and replace? Can it be done without jacking the rear up?

pic of damage


She was soo mint prior...
maybe now I can swap my hitch over to it haha

 

That's a good news, bad news thing---best part is nothing more serious happened. Bad news of course being damage to an otherwise pristine Club Wagon.

No real need to raise the van just to swap bumpers. You will need a good selection of impact tools or one BA ratchet/breaker bar to remove mounting bolts though--they tend to rust themselves together. Maybe liberal PB Blaster treatments can soften them up but be prepared for a tough time getting them off.

I'd get a new set of bolts or mounting plates---can't find the correct part number in my '10 crash book--they can't be tough to locate, shouldn't be too expensive.

Then again those bolts have also been known to just snap off first turn, be prepared for that too. Don't want it falling off into your (unsuspecting) lap---that'd hurt!

 

haha sounds easy enough, good news is my buddy is buying me a new bumper

 

That's even better news!

Ever considered or have use for a chrome step bumper? If never used as a hitch they're still a handy step and/or platform for the rear.

 

Hey bud, you recommending Mopar bumpers.

 

When my van was young, my son was driving it and stopped at a traffic light when a distracted carload of teenage girls took out the rear bumper. The girl's dad did not want an insurance claim on his daughter's record and I replaced the regular bumper with a step bumper, which I like for the ability to stand on it. Plus it will protect the rear sheetmetal better. The accident also kinked the bottom seam of my rear door and the bump shop had their dentless paint removal guy straighten it out quite well--I chose that over a repaint and bodywork and the van has been fine. The guy was glad to pay the extra bucks for the step bumper for my trouble...

In terms of true disclosure, I backed the van into a pole at a motel after a whole night awake with a migraine headache (bad enough that I spent much of the night in the bathroom throwing up), so I had to buy myself another step bumper...if I'd had a regular bumper on it, I probably would have been into the sheet metal.

Edit--and many years ago when I had my '86 GMC van (with regular bumper), a little old man rammed me at a traffic light. His insurance company paid for a new bumper, and I paid the extra money to get a step bumper on that van as well...

George